Once we set Sail
by Nick.Norma
Summary: When Kairi suggests to Sora that they should take the raft and leave the island for good, Sora agrees and the two are thrust into a dark plot that will hold the answer to what Kairi has wondered all her life: Who is she? Where did she come from? new chapt
1. The Threat

An orange sun set across the ocean that night. With the surf lapping at the tips of their toes and young boy and girl sat on an old wooden dock and looked out in the yonder. Sora felt his face flushing red as the girl he liked gave a pleasing sigh. Kairi I love you. Go on say it! The thought was repeated inside his hair covered skull- tell her how you feel. He knew he couldn't of course and he hated it. It felt as if his insides were flipping around like an acrobat. Sora had never been that great for showing his feelings through words. He was more of an action guy- He could show his feelings by protecting the ones he loved; the problem was right now no one needed protecting. Sora lowered his head slightly in defeat. Chicken! He told himself and immediately felt better. It was strange how that worked; Sora found he could handle things if he told himself what he really thought. Riku would never have given up like that- knowing his best friend he would have leant over and hooked up with that beautiful angelic face. Dude- she looked like she had been made by the tear drop of god himself! Sora felt sick inside- why did he get stuck with the kind of personality that made him shy around girls? He longed for this girl, he needed her yet, because of his character he could never have her.

'Isn't this an awesome sun set?' Kairi asked not moving from her heavenly perch, 'Yeh…' Sora let it slip from his lips like a summer breeze and raised his hands to rest against the back of his neck.

Summer- it was always summer on the Destiny islands, sandy beaches, warm clear blue water, tropical fish, coral reefs. It was the life. It was the only life Sora, Kairi and Riku had ever known, in fact they were sick of it. That's why they had built the raft. It had taken several weeks but finally they had a boat and enough provisions to sail away to one of the other worlds Sora's father had spoke about before his death. It was simple- to most this island was a paradise, but to the heart-seeking freedom it was a tiny prison surrounded by water. And so Sora and his friends sought to escape. Now the finally could.

Tidus- another boy living on the island was a sceptic. He claimed that he had swum out into the ocean and there was nothing there, just nothing but blue sea and sky. And he described a strange presence he felt at one stage it was almost like an invisible barrier stopped him from going too far. Sora had never believed Tidus- he was an arrogant stuck up know-it-all.

'You know, Riku has changed' Kairi said with what? Sadness? Regret?

'What d'ya mean?' Sora said staring in her beautiful purple eyes,

'Well…' she seemed unsure- what couldn't she tell him? They had been best friends for years and Sora could tell that she was holding back something. He looked at her manipulating his facial features to say: Tell me! You can trust me! But she ignored him, 'you can tell me Kairi' Sora exclaimed and turned to look at her face, but only for a moment because he began to blush,

'I'm not sure exactly…' Kairi said, 'He seems distant than what he used to be, it's like something is killing him inside' she lingered on that for a moment,

'Riku is over that depression Kairi- trust me' Sora said and comforted her. They sat again in awkward silence. Sora twiddling with his hands and Kairi breathing quietly suddenly her eyes lit up, 'Sora! Let's take the raft and go–just the two of us!'

'What?' Where did that come from?

'We could go now and leave all our problems behind us! Wouldn't that be cool? We could try and find my home'

'But what about Riku? He wouldn't like it if we left him behind!'

'He. Just kidding' she giggled.

Sora melted inside. That laugh! It was so cute, 'What's gotten into you Kairi? You're the one who's changed!' Sora grinned and rubbed his face,

'Maybe' she seemed distant again,' you know, I was a little scared at first… but now I'm ready. No matter where I go and what I see, I know I can always come back here… and I know that you'll be with me the entire time… right?'

'Yeh! Of course!'

'I just can't wait, once we set sail- it'll be great'

'Yeh. No more parents telling us what to do, we could be our own masters! Go anywhere we please, do anything we please- No responsibility!' Sora exclaimed,

'We could do that…' Kairi said thinking,' …or we could be heroes! Fighting evil and being invited to everyone's parties!'

Sora smiled at her as she stood up to leave, her white sleevless t-shirt glaring against what was left of the sun, 'Don't ever change Sora. Don't ever change' she seemed to order him warmly, and the poor fourteen-year-old boy felt like complying with anything she said, 'I won't' he replied and she smiled.

What happened next stunned Sora, leaning forward Kairi kissed him lightly on the cheek, her warm lips pressing against his skin. She then gave a nervous giggle and skipped off leaving Sora a very happy guy.

Confusion was rushing through his mind, leaving him behind. Riku never would have guessed that this time things would be different. The tables would turn, he had always been the more masculine guy at of him and Sora, and he was the one the girls went to most of the time, only after he had gotten over his problems of course. Yet from behind the grove of trees he had set up his hammock in this afternoon Riku had heard everything.

A guy can tell when another guy is flirting, just like to girls can- and Riku could tell Sora wanted Kairi. The problem was so did he. He wasn't that sure why he liked her in the first place. Sure she was hot, but there were plenty of other good looking chicks on the islands. He though maybe it was her warm personality, she was always kind and caring. A great person that Riku enjoyed being around because she made him feel good inside.

Riku had never dealt well with competition, he was a competitor but he let winning get to him so much he so many times would do anything to accomplish his goals. He was not going to let Sora get the better of Kairi. He would talk to him, nicely. Tell him how he felt and then they would go from there.

About five minutes later Sora got up to leave as the sun was gone now and the sky was black. Suddenly out from behind one of the tall palm trees stepped the white haired Riku, one of Sora's oldest friends. Something was different and Riku knew it. Now that he saw his friend, who was obviously bedazzled by Kairi, Riku didn't feel like bargaining with Sora. He didn't mean to but found himself growing more possessive by the second until eventually he made the mistake, 'You can't have her you know' he told Sora. He advanced threateningly and Sora found himself backing up against a boulder, 'What are you talking about Riku?' he gave a hesitant laugh,

'You can't have her- She's mine!' Riku sternly put it,

'Let Kairi choose for herself!' Sora squeaked in fear. Riku could not handle this, he knew who Kairi would choose- the guy that understood her more, the one who had found her. He started to froth at the mouth and roared to Sora,

'She is mine! I WILL HAVE HER!'

'But…'

Riku could see the fear in Sora's eyes and he was calmed a bit. He never wanted to hurt or scare his friend. He tried to fix it but his pride and ego where to big,

'Sora I'm telling you this because I'm your friend- Stay away from her. I've liked her longer- she is rightfully mine'

The two stared at one another for a minute before Riku grinned and ruffled Sora's hair. He turned to leave for home, 'don't forget this conversation Sora!' he called back,' I know I won't!'


	2. New Arrival

Early one crisp morning as the foam from the sea gushed up across the white sandy beach a young girl lay asleep amongst the waves. She had short orangish brown hair and seemed to be around the age of six or seven. She slept peacefully as her chest rose up and down, each breath moving to the rhythm of the waves themselves. Although she lay flat on her side in the bosom of the sea herself this mysterious girl was perfectly dry and warm. Not a drop of water touched her petite frame. The sea spray instead forged an alternate path around her body, leaving the sand underneath her dry and warm. It was as if the water was afraid to touch her like she was some holy relic to be feared by the eyes of men and gods alike.

The sun slowly began to rise on the horizon- a bright yellow ball of flaming magma. A cool breeze whispered across the bay calling to the coconut fronds- informing the mountains of the arrival of this new comer. Gulls squawked in the distance and the girl began to awaken. She was faintly aware of someone shuffling quietly and cautiously towards her; 'Hello?' came the voice of a young boy- nine years of age perhaps? Only just about to hit puberty. She heard him get closer and her eye lids flipped open. They looked around and investigated the surroundings, 'Who are you?' the boy spoke again. She rolled over slowly so she could just see the outline of his small face and messy brown hair over the brightness of the clear blue sky above, '…huh?' she moaned quietly,

'Where did you come from?' the boy asked…


	3. Setting Sail

Kairi awoke from her memories with a start at a blood red dawn as Sora shook her shoulders like a nervous wreck, 'what is it Sora?' she moaned rubbing her sleepy eyes,

'Did you mean it?' Sora gasped, still shaking her, 'did you mean what you said?'

'About what?' Kairi asked sitting up in her pink pyjamas,

'Riku has changed Kairi!' Sora gritted his teeth,

'Yuh I know!' Kairi said,

'Did you mean what you said about leaving him?'

'What?'

'Y'know how you said we should take the raft- just the two of us?'

'Yes?'

'Did you mean it?' Sora said and stopped shaking her long enough for her to stop and think, 'It was just a quick thought Sora…' she was cut off. What ever had happened to Sora, Kairi could plainly see he was spooked,

'Get you gear! We're leaving!'

'Sora you're talking crazy! What happened?'

'It's Riku!'

'What did he do?'

'No time for that- I'll tell you later! Let's go!' he started grabbing clothes from her draws and stuffing them into a bag, 'How did you get into my room anyway?' she asked, still thoroughly confused, 'Quimbly let me in!' Sora said. Quimbly was the mayor of Destiny Island he was a little eccentric but he had been the person to take care of Kairi like a daughter and she loved him dearly,

'He let you in? Oh would you stop doing that!' Kairi snapped at Sora as he paced quickly back and forth,

'He doesn't care about us!' Sora said and tugged her out of bed. He rushed her, still in her PJ's out of her room, downstairs and past Quimbly cooking bacon and eggs in the kitchen and outside,

'Breakfast in ten kids!' Quimbly said watching them leave,

'But I'm still in my PJ's Quimbly!' Kairi cried,

'That's nice dear' Quimbly muttered and continued cooking. Sora dragged her down the path of her house towards the beach,

'We have to hurry- Riku will be up soon'

'Just let me get some clothes on!' Kairi muttered in an attempt to humour her obviously delirious friend. Sora chucked her the bag of clothes and she dug through it looking for a sweatshirt. Meanwhile Sora looked around with nervous eyes. When Kairi began to put on some shoes he snapped and picked her up, carrying her over the raft and dumping her on it. Then he pushed it off the dry sand and out into the shallows before hoping on it himself, 'right, now will you tell me what's going on?' Kairi asked a little exasperated. Sora handed her a paddle and instructed her to row, she obliged only to stop when Sora began to stare at Riku walking up over one the dunes towards were the raft was.

He saw that the boat was gone and looked out to sea. His jaw dropped and he realised what was happening- they were leaving without him. He ran down the sand hills and into the water. By now Sora had started paddling again and they were out of the shallows, 'Wait!' Riku spluttered and began to paddle after them. But he was no match for the tide as it constantly pushed him back closer ashore.

Finally he gave up and screamed at the two teens in anguish, 'Sora come back here you prick!' His words were carried away by the wind and became unheard by either Sora or Kairi, 'Don't you take her from me!' Sora kept paddling and Kairi just sat there confused but trusting her best friend's judgement, 'SHE"S MINE! AND I BUILT THE RAFT! THAT'S MINE TOO!' but the Raft just kept drifting and drifting until to Riku it was just a tiny dot in the distance.

About half an hour Kairi gave in, 'Okay Sora lets go back now. You've had your fun'

'Are you mad? We can't turn back now- he'll kill me!'

'What the heck happened between you two?'

'You wouldn't understand!' Sora said,

'Try me'

'Promise you won't laugh?'

'Yes'

'You I li… lik…. You know I'm your good friend don't you?'

'Of course I do'

'So you know I um… wa… want to be more than friends' Sora blushed,

'Sora I don't know if you realise how easy it is to read you, I've known you and Riku both have had a crush on me for ages'

'Oh, okay. Well last night Riku saw us talking and…'

'WHAT!' Kairi shrieked, 'you mean I'm stuck out here in the middle of the ocean just because you and Riku had a tiff over me!'

'Don't you believe me?' Sora asked,

'I believe you; I just think YOU'RE AN IDIOT!'

'Why?'

'It was just a minor argument! That's why!'

'He threatened to kill me- I could see it in his eyes!' Sora said,

'I don't care if he wanted to rule the whole friggin world! I was only joking about us taking the raft last night'

She turned away from Sora and dangled her feet in the tropical water- giving Sora the cold shoulder, 'I'm sorry' he said, 'I was just trying to protect you Kairi'

'Well I can look after myself!' she snapped back, 'now let's hope we can navigate our way home because I'm going swimming if we can't!' she warned,

'Okay' Sora said weakly. When ever he was around her he felt like doing anything she said. Such is the power of love.


	4. How big are these Bananas exactly?

They had been at sea for a whole day and night and there was still no sign of land. Kairi continued to ignore Sora and Sora continued to row in a pointless direction. So far the sea had been calm which was good because despite all their planning while building the raft no one had even thought about the chance of a storm and Sora, only realising it now; knew that the pathetic mode of transport they were on could never make it through rough seas, 'Nice breeze aye?' Sora tried making conversation, 'hmm' Kairi humphed,

'This would be a great fishing spot' Sora continued,

'Just shut up and row'

That kind of killed the conversation quickly, and so Sora continued to strain his muscles by rowing on both sides of the raft. The sky was filled with sea gulls dipping into the water only moments later to emerge with a silvery fish in their mouth. They passed a large rock with a palm tree on it a Kairi looked at it oddly, 'strange…' she muttered. Sora ignoring it placed the oar down and picked up their bag of supplies, 'Want a banana?' he asked her pulling one of the yellow fruits from its bag,

'No' Kairi frowned and moved further away from Sora,

'Apple?'

'No'

'Coconut?'

'Look I'm not hungry okay?' Kairi snapped at him and then turned back to dangling her feet in the water, 'I've lost my appetite and one of my friends' she mumbled to herself, 'You don't mind if I do?' Sora asked through a mouthful of Banana, 'Do what you want Sora' Kairi said and departed the conversation again,

'Please Kairi…' Sora said and moved closer to the girl,' don't be mad at me…'

Riku sat on the beach moaning a pathetic moan. He was alone in the world; his best friends had left him to die almost. They were his only friends. He had never meant to hurt Sora's feelings the other night. It was just a brief warning between friends, one guy to another. How could Sora have taken it so seriously? Sure he may have gone a bit over board but it was the way he felt. He loved Kairi with all his mind, all his heart and all his soul. What did Sora have that made Kairi want to follow him? That's what he had- Trust. Sora was always so trusting that's what made him so likeable. When Riku had threatened him, Sora had trusted that he was speaking the truth. When Kairi had washed up on the shore five years ago claiming to remember nothing but her name Sora had trusted she was telling the truth. Sora could keep secrets no one else could; it was like he locked them away in his heart for good. If half the things Riku had told Sora during their period as friends got loose among the other teens on the island, Riku would probably have killed himself from embarrassment. But Sora had kept those secrets so he could torment Riku in another way- stealing his love. Riku clenched his fists, He couldn't let the boy get away that easily. He stood up and wiped the tears from his face, 'I'm going to build a raft' he said and set off to prepare the necessary resources.

Kairi was no longer mad. How could she stay mad with such a cute guy? Sora right behind her massaging her back as his feet dangled in the warm water next to hers, 'I'm sorry Kairi' he told her,' you just seemed so passionate last night about us taking the raft, I just thought…' He stopped trying to find the words he needed;' you don't hate me do you?' Kairi looked up into his eyes,

'That's okay Sora. You helped me when I first arrived on the island when every one else thought I was weird, I could never hate you'

He smiled. She was back, 'Banana?' he asked pulling another out the bag. Kairi gave a giggle and snatched it playfully from his fist, 'Don't mind if I do, thank you' she said and began to slowly peel the bright coloured skin from the fruit in a flirty way. Sora tried to dazzle her with a fact he knew and blushed. Before he knew what he was saying he spluttered out, 'Bananas grow erect' he covered his mouth and looked away in embarrassment. Kairi burst out laughing and rolled Sora flat on his back. She climbed up so she was leaning over right above him and took a bite from the fruit, 'How big are these bananas?' she asked smiling,

'Bananas are actually flowers' he said uncomfortably.


	5. The Storm Arrives

A storm was coming. Riku could sense it. He always could feel things no one else could. Discernment he thought it was called. His mum while she had still been around had taken great heed of Riku's gift to see things that could not be seen. Unfortunately her son knowing when something bad would happen was not enough. She had become paranoid and eventually took her own life.

Riku stood on the dock behind Tidus and Selphie who were making out at its edge. He ignored the two love birds and continued to look out at the huge purple rain clouds gathering in the distance. Something strange was awoken within him and his eyes blazed with fire, 'The door…' he spoke softly,' …it's opening' He had no clue to what that meant but the feeling he got from it was a foreboding sought. Not entirely evil, but not entirely good as well. The door was opening; a great power was to be unleashed. If he could only harness it then perhaps he could make all his troubles disappear.

Riku smiled- yes, all his dreams would be made true, Kairi would love him, Sora would look up to him as a hero and the three of them could leave the island for a better place. Riku turned and walked home with dreams high in his heart and a tear in his eye. He had opened his Heart to the outside world. He had beckoned for something and something had replied. The darkness had touched his soul, infected it. And Riku had embraced it back.

'This is not good!' Kairi moaned and ran her fingers through her hair, 'No food left, fresh clothes- no space private enough to change into them, Its cold and windy, the sea is getting a bit bumpy and just to make it worse…' she held out her hand and caught a drop of water that had fallen from the cloudy grey sky,' …its starting to rain'

Sora grunted in agreement, 'I can't believe we never equipped the raft with a tarpaulin!'

'We never thought it might rain!' Kairi groaned. She huddled up against him and he hugged her close, 'What are we going to do?' she shivered,

'Lets get some food' Sora replied and pointed at the dark shadow of a fish trailing behind them in the water, 'We don't have a fishing rod though!' Kairi looked at his determined and hungry face, 'No, but I have this' Sora drew his pocket knife, 'wait here' he told her and dived in.

The fish saw the splash and charged the young teen that splashed out of the way just in time. Kairi screamed in terror, 'It's a shark!' Then the rain began to pour. It soaked her to the bone and made it hard to see Sora at all. She could tell he was still there because his red shorts stood out in the dullness and they were thrashing around as he fought the creature,

'Aghh!' Sora cried out as the huge fish bit into his well tuned calf muscle,

'Sora!' Kairi scrambled to the edge of the raft and reached out her hand. Sora clumsily swam his way through the waves and back to her, 'Pull me up!' he roared and she struggled to do so. As she pulled on Sora's arms the Shark came back for more. It opened it mouth to take a bite but Sora booted it in the nose and with a heap of strength pulled himself, went and bloody up onto the raft. He gasped rapidly for air and Kairi pushed on his chest to help get rid of the salty water in his throat.

A small fountain of water squirted out of his mouth and he stopped convulsing and passed out.

The storm had arrived on the destiny islands. Trees were being ripped from the ground by their roots and the seas crashed furiously up against the docks. The people of the island hid in their basements from the ferocious winds and hard, heavy rains. Riku was apparently mad with grief because his friends had disappeared half a week ago, according to the gossipers of the village and had ran out into the storm. He was supposedly looking for Sora and Kairi but he was actually going to the door. He trooped through the rain when all of a sudden a small shadowy creature rose from the ground. It had glowing yellow eyes and sharp taloned claws, 'what the…' Riku asked squinting at the thing. It ran towards him and grabbed at his shirt, tugging and pulling like it wanted him to follow it. It ran off a few metres and stopped. It looked back at Riku and beckoned with its eyes: "Follow me"

Riku after a moment's decision ran after the creature and into the dark. It led him were he was originally heading- The secret place. A cave under the roots of a huge tree that went deep underground. It had been Sora and Riku's hiding place for so long until Kairi had come to the island. Sora had begged Riku to let her in because she was special. She was of course; otherwise Riku would have never fallen for her, the way she tossed her short brown hair out of her eyes, her beautiful violet eyes! His love for her was that of the intensity of the sun, but Riku could never tell her that. In his heart he knew she was attracted more to Sora because of his happy-go-lucky personality, the thing that Riku had wanted all his life but could never seem to grasp. Instead he would lock himself away studying books and fighting. Over the years he had toned his muscles to the extent of his fifteen year old body and his skin had become pale from spending too much time inside. Sora had saved him in a way; they had become 'true' friends when Riku was twelve and Sora eleven. For a few years now Riku's mum had been dead and Riku was very depressed. His life was at the point were he would carve into his arm with a knife how useless he was and was tempted each day to jump of the cliff at the end of the island to his death.

Actually he still had no clue why Sora had befriended him. Perhaps it was because he felt like helping him out after knowing him all his life. Or maybe it was a dare and Sora had gotten to know the boy as a good guy. Which ever one it was Riku's personality changed drastically, he was still a shy outcast with hardly any friends but he no longer wanted to take his own life which was good.

Kairi however had made friends with both Riku and Sora as soon as washing up on the island. She had viewed herself as an outcast too because she had no idea were she had come from and was able to relate to Riku. Sora- he was the one who had found her that morning so it was only natural that he had her as a friend.

Riku had liked Kairi first. When Sora and he were in the cave talking about stuff that guys talk about, Sora would still be jabbering on how gross girls were while Riku leant against the rocky wall day dreaming of Kairi and what he wanted to do with her.

Riku followed the monster down the tunnel and into the catacomb below. Mushrooms grew in the corners and the walls were covered with graffiti by Sora and Riku. He did not notice the one with Sora and Kairi sharing a Paopu fruit. Instead he headed straight for the oak door at the end of the room.

An eerie glow emitted from underneath the door and Riku's guide ran straight through the closed door and into the dark, 'What is this door anyway?' Riku whispered and placed his hand on it, 'No handle, no lock, what is it for?' he placed his other hand on it thinking. Suddenly there was a rumble from behind it. Riku stepped back just as the door was flung wildly open and a dark wind exploded from it, sending Riku tumbling back towards the entrance, 'No' he muttered and grabbed onto a boulder firmly lodged in the ground. He used the rock to pull himself up and made his way to the door. Inside it was a thick mucusy layer of purple slime. Riku pushed on it with his finger and a shock was sent through his body, 'Power' he smiled and stepped right into it.

And that was the last thing he remembered.


	6. Flashback

A startled boy jumped in front of the cave, 'Sora what are you doing?' a younger Kairi giggled as the ten-year-old boy blocked her off from the tunnel under the tree wildly with his arms, 'You're not aloud in here!' Sora gasped,

'Why not?'

'Um… It's dangerous!'

'Get real Sora- why can't I go in there'

'It's uh… me and Riku's secret hideout and girls aren't aloud!' Kairi's eyes opened wide, 'A secret hideout! Please!'

Riku sat carving into the stone wall when Sora entered with Kairi, 'Gah!' Riku cried out and dived in front of the crude picture he had been drawing, 'Sora! What's she doing here?' he asked with a red face,

'Kairi's aloud in here because she's special!' Sora grumped.

Kairi walked around the room reading the graffiti. Sora followed her closely, making sure she didn't see anything that would embarrass the two boys, 'What does this mean?' Kairi asked and read, 'Fu…' Sora grabbed Kairi's mouth and stopped her from uttering the word, 'Never mind!' he said,' its time to go now!'

Kairi left and Sora came back in quietly, 'You let her in why?' Riku asked stepping away from the picture,

'I don't know… She just got in!' Sora said,

'Sure she did Sora, I can tell you like her!' Riku nudged his friend playfully,

'Eww! Shuttup Riku- Girls are gross!'


	7. Desert of Confusion

A glimmer of light shone on Kairi's face, waking her from her confused sleep. She opened her eyes and was forced to shade them with her hands because the blue sky was too bright. She was faintly aware of shallow water washing against her body. After a moment she stretched her bruised muscles and sat up,

'What the…?' she said as she looked at her surroundings. Sora lay in water beside her about an inch or two submerged so his nose peeked just above the water. Her first impression was that they had washed ashore of some beach as the sand under her feet was golden white. Then she looked around. For as far as the eye could see it was a blank canvas. The same shallow water covered the same sand for thousands of miles, it didn't get any deeper- the place was flat. A flat watery desert. That wasn't the strangest thing about the place. There were Bubbles perfectly formed spheres of water, falling from the plain blue sky. It sparked a peculiar feeling inside of her heart. A sense of belonging- familiarity as well as complete and utter shock at the randomness of this place. Sora moaned beside her and she helped him up so he didn't have to put pressure on his wounded leg, 'where are we?' Sora asked and rubbed his eyes,

'I'm not sure' Kairi told him.

Sora held out his hand and caught one of the rainbow shine spheres, 'Where are these bubbles coming from?' he looked around and spotted the source, 'oh… kay…?' High in the distant sky was a gigantic bottle of dishwashing liquid, '…um…gee…' Kairi whispered as she spotted it as well,' so… were do we go now Sora?' she looked around and saw nothing- no landmarks nothing, 'HOW THE HECK DID WE GET HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!' Kairi cried out in frustration,

'Let's not get into that right now because I've got no clue' Sora said,

'Well what can we do now? Stand still and wait for something to happen?' Kairi suggested,

'I suggest we head towards the big… BOTTLE' Sora said looking at it and gesturing its size with his arms,

'Let's go than'

The two trooped through the warm water which strangely refused to ripple. For hours they walked in the hot sun, which never set. Never had Sora experienced a place like this.

The thing that annoyed Kairi was that the bottle always seemed the same distance away no matter how long or how fast they walked,

'It's no use!' grumped Kairi and sat down in the water defeated,

'You're right' Sora sat beside her and they stared out to a flat sea,' this place is screwed- not even a decent wave!'

'THIS WHOLE ADVENTURE IS SCREWED!' Kairi screamed to no one in particular. She bowed her head in exhaustion.

Suddenly Sora spied something bobbing in the distance, 'What's that?' Sora asked pointing,

'I'm not sure' Kairi said squinting at it. The two stood up and jogged, well Sora limped over to it. It too like the bottle seemed to get further away from them,

'STUPID OCEAN!' Sora roared and kicked the water in anguish all to clutch his side in pain. Then he looked up and the thing was gone, 'Where…?' Something bumped hardly into his leg. He looked down and saw a wooden boat with two oars attached to it, 'Hey Kairi' he nudged her, 'We can dry our feet'

Riku was drifting. Drifting through a thick dark mist. He had no idea where he was and really had no desire to know. A glowing green emitted from his body and he felt true power, the power to give life, the power to take life, the power to deceive, the power to change the universe. It all zoomed at his mind and he accepted it with a warm welcome. And then, once he had taken his fill of the secrets of life he was thrown from the bosom of darkness and found himself back, alive and in water…


	8. Strange Circumstances

Riku felt the bitter salt spray on his lips. His silvery hair moved softly in the warm flow of the water. He opened his eyes and looked around,

'What happened?' he groaned as he sat up and rubbed his head. He stood up and brushed the wet sand off himself and washed his hands in the foam,

'…Strange. Where the hell did that storm get to so fast?' he said noting he was still on Destiny Island,

'Better go see how the others fared the tempest' he said and walked off towards the huts he and the other guys had built when they where younger.

'Oh…man…' he whispered as he came over the hill that lead to the huts. They were a mess. The huts were strewn across the clearing like a thick blanket of devilish ruins, Tidus and the others, their once fashionable clothes torn and soiled by wind, water and mud were walking like zombies, collecting bits of the wreckage and cleaning everything up. Their faces showed visible strains of weariness and quite a few of them boasted big black bruises were they had been hit by flying debris,

'Hey guys' Riku greeted them as he walked up,' need some help?' he asked and went to pick up some rubbish. They ignored him and continued with their work, 'Guys?' they didn't even look at him,

'Okay guys, I know I've been a bit anti lately but I don't need to be ignored!' Riku fumed. Nothing. Not even a twitch of their ears,

'Hello?' he said as he waved a lone hand past the boy's eyes. Tidus didn't even look at him,

'Oi Prick!' Riku roared at Tidus in desperate anger, expecting a response Riku stood firm in front of Tidus, instead he walked right through the teenager as if he were a whisp of smoke,

'…what…' Riku's jaw fell, '…the hell?'

Just a bit off the centre of Destiny Island was a small pool of crystal clear water. A small fall trickled down the rock face of the cliffs above and fed the pond. With his feet in the water and his head in his hands Riku's eyes burned as furious tears embarrassingly formed in his eyes. So many things flashed through his mind, why couldn't they see him? And most importantly: How had Tidus walked right through him. A thought crossed his mind,

'Am… am I dead?' he whispered,

'No' a voice, deep and husky forced him to look up with his eyes. His gaze fell upon a hooded man walking across the water,

'You are not dead fool. Do you still understand nothing?' the man asked with a gesture of his hand, pale and smooth,

'Wh… who are you?' Riku asked as his lower lip stopped quivering. The man laughed,

'I am… …who I am and that is all you need to know of me. What you do need to know however is how to use the powers beheld to you my boy'

'What powers?' Riku asked and drew his feet from the water so to back away on his hands and knees as the man got closer,

'You don't remember do you?'

Sora and Kairi had been rowing for hours and frankly, it was getting a little boring, if not frustrating,

'When the hell are you going to get somewhere?' Sora grumbled anxiously at no one in particular. It was true, even in a boat they were not making much progress, although at least now the bottle seemed to be getting closer. Also, finally the sun was beginning to set and before very long the two were bombarded with almost utter darkness and a strong cold breeze.

A huge bluish-white moon sat high in the sky watching down on them. Kairi lay trying to sleep, shivering and going blue by the minute. Sora was watching her wondering what to do. Suddenly her warm voice pierced the night,

'Why did you leave me?'

'What?' Sora asked moving towards her troubled frame,

'Why did you leave?' she repeated,

'But I'm right here Kairi! I didn't leave' Sora said and sat close next to her,

'She said you were swallowed by a storm…'

'Huh? …Kairi?'

She began to breathe quickly and shortly as if she was having an asthma attack,

'Calm down Kairi!' he whispered soothingly to her as her breathing got louder,

'Feel the water rock the boat Kai… Feel it, breathe it!' soon she began to slow and calm right down, and before she fell deep into sleep, her head resting on Sora's chest she muttered a single word that seemed strange coming from her…

'…father…'


	9. Feels Like Home

It was in Hollow Bastion that Kairi dreamed a memory hidden deep inside her heart. The castle was bustling with noise as the servants prepared the place for a huge party. The aroma of roasting sweet meats travelled speedily down the corridors alerting the guests that were beginning to arrive the promise of a good evening of feasting.

The party was in full swing now, since the guest of honour had woken up, a baby girl lay In her cot in the centre of the ballroom watching the guests of royalty dance past happily. She wondered what all this was for, but at such a young age barely a few weeks old she forgot her question almost before it even entered her head.

It was later on in the night now, and it was time for the guests to honour the baby girl. They each formed a line and in turn placed their gifts in front of her- Kairi.

But as the line of guests began to thin another person stepped up to the child. The figure- a woman wore dark purple robes and out of her pale head grew two large horns. She was known throughout the kingdom as maleficent, the witch-faerie who delighted in the practise of dark magic and the study of the Heart.

She had not been on the guest list but here she was.

The child's father, a tall well-built man with long pale hair recognised the sorceress for who she was immediately, and dashed forward to cut her off,

'No Maleficent!' he roared but bounced away from the baby as he hit some kind of invisible shield.

Maleficent just looked at him and smiled,

'Foolish man' she muttered and returned her attention to the just born Kairi. Pointing a lone curved finger at the baby girl she whispered a few mystical words and a light began to glow around the kid,

'Let it be known' Maleficent cried out to the masses,' that the child now contains one of the seven shards of darkness inside her form. With this dark spot upon her heart she will lead a cursed life, hunted mercilessly by the Heartless who seek the shards. Your child,' she turned to the father, 'my old enemy… is doomed' and with that she disappeared leaving only a shrill cackle to echo through the building…

'Gah!' Kairi sat straight up, her body was soaked with sweat. Sora sat sleeping deeply across from her in the row boat,

'Sora!' Kairi gasped and shook the teenager awake,

'Huh? What's wrong?' he muttered drowsily rubbing the sleepy dust from his eyes,

'We're here' she said pointing straight up. Sora followed her finger and saw through the midst of bubbles the Bottle only a few kilometres off from where they were,

'Let's go!' Sora cried and leapt out of the boat, 'Arghh!' he gurgled as his whole body sank under the water. Kairi quickly grabbed him and pulled him back into the boat,

'Looks like the water has depth now aye?' she smiled as Sora coughed water onto the floor,

'Let's row the rest of the way, shall we?' Sora suggested. And so with as much strength and speed the two exhausted teens could muster the grabbed the oars and began to paddle furiously towards the destination.

After a short while they began to near a steady circular waterfall of dishwashing liquid streaming down from the bottle,

'We have to go through that' Kairi exclaimed with a sudden certainty. They went to row again but found the boat was already travelling towards the dishwashing liquid on its own.

The boat slid cleanly through the waterfall and into a large bay. A small sandy island lay dead ahead of them. O it was perched a small tin and wood shack surrounded by three large trees with bubbles to replace the foliage,

'What the hell?' Sora let the words escape like a whisper from his lips. Kairi frowned as a sense of familiarity and deja'vu hit her like a thick wall of heat,

'It feels like… home?' she sighed to herself.


	10. Shed Tears

So, let me get this straight… you're…' Riku was cut off by the man,

'That is correct, where is she?' he asked with a dark voice,

'She's… not here' Riku said awkwardly,

'Where is she then?'

'I don't know, her and another boy from our village, my friend- or at least I thought he was my friend… they left on a raft about two days ago now'

'On a raft you say?'

'Yes' Riku nodded,

'Tell me Riku, do you have any idea where they were heading?'

Sora and Kairi meanwhile were stumbling out of the boat in a mad rush for dry land. This was shortly after accompanied by a horrible dizzy sensation caused by not having waves rocking around them anymore. As the world spun around her Kairi half stumbled half crawled up the island to the strangely evil looking shack ahead of them.

She pulled herself up the three creaking steps and onto the front veranda before collapsing in a sick heap.

Sora arrived shortly after and threw up on his shoes before collapsing against the wall next to Kairi,

'Some…. ride….aye?' he gasped for air like a fish out of water.

Kairi turned and smiled at him grimly,

'Yeh' she puffed,' so what now?' she asked clambering to her feet,

'I guess we should have a look around' Sora replied, joining her,

'Dammit Sora! I mean how are we gunna get home?'

Sora looked away trying to avoid her accusing stare,

'I… I don't know' he stammered.

Kairi exploded,

'What the hell do you mean you don't know? I've had to spend two whole damn days and two god awful nights in a cramped boat with you while you play the dickhead hero, only to find out once we are totally lost in some nightmare of a dream that you have no friggin idea how the hell we are supposed to get home!' she screamed,

'I'm sorry Kairi…' but she butted in,

'Don't, don't try and even begin to tell me how sorry you are! This is your fault- yes, but for you to make such rash decisions like this because your friend threatens to smash your pathetic face in, doesn't even give you the damn right to apologise to me, let alone be forgiven. Godammit Sora! I had a family- even if it was a foster parent, I had a mum who cared about me and is probably worried sick about me right now!'

A tear of desperation fell from Kairi's eye and like a curved dagger it pierced Sora's worn heart as he saw the pain he was causing this girl. It made him feel like the worst person around and he couldn't hold it in anymore, 'Your right!' he moaned and slid down the wall as tears burned down his cheeks,' …Your absolutely right! I'm an idiot to have been scared of Riku, he was my friend! "Let's take the raft and escape Riku" who's fucking idea was that?' he gave a whimper,' I let you down Kairi, I thought I loved you, but I have destroyed your life for you, so I guess I must have been wrong! I don't deserve to even be here with you, let alone love you! What I deserve is to burn in the worst hell ever!' HE dropped his head into his hands and sobbed silently,' I'm sorry, I have no idea what to do, or where to go, for a hero I'm useless. I hate myself, and you probably do too, Go do what you can with your shattered existence now Kai, I've disgraced mine' he backed up to the corner of the balcony and hid in the shadows.

Now it was Kairi's turn to feel bad, after a moment her anger for Sora had passed and she stepped over to him and wiped the tears from his face with her sleeve,

'Don't worry Sora, we'll find a way…'

He continued to sob,

'Maybe there's something inside that could help us get home'

He looked up at her pitifully,

'Sora, listen to me. We are going to find a way out of this, but I need your help'

'You mean you don't hate me?'

Kairi smiled and leant forward, she kissed him lightly on the lips,

'Does that feel like I hate you Sora?'

Riku and the man zoomed across the water towards the sun that was setting over the sea. The moved slowly but steadily, held above the foaming waves by a force propelled from the man,

'So where are we heading?' Riku yelled over the wind,

'What?' The man asked,

'WHERE ARE WE HEADING?' Riku yelled louder.

The man smiled from inside his hood,

'An old fishing spot' he said quizzically.


	11. Questions answered with Questions

Sora and Kairi stood solemnly in front of the small beaten door leading into the shack. It felt as if the two were both afraid of what lay inside.

It was true that inside could be the answers to their problem, but then what if it was the exact opposite, what if the building contained nothing but old crumbling furniture? Or worse what if it led to more questions?

Sora put a reassuring hand on Kairi's shoulder. She turned and looked up into his tear-dried yet stubborn strong face,

'Come on,' he said,' Let's find our way home'

She nodded and took one deep breath. Sora reached forward and gripped the rusty doorknob, twisted and pulled,

'It won't open!' he said and tugged harder,' It must be locked or stuck or something' he pushed his foot against it but only achieved in jumping off the door and collapsing in a clumsy heap on the steps behind them,

'Let me try' she stuck out her hand to open the door,

'It's stuck Kairi you won't be able to…'

The door opened with ease at her touch and a flurry of dust particles exploded into the air causing Kairi to squint and cough a little as the dirt hit her face,

'…oh' Sora muttered and jumped, up and joined her as she stepped inside.

They walked in and waited for their eyes to adjust to the gloom. When the dust settled the two teens surveyed the one roomed shack in dismay.

It was empty.

To Riku's amazement he was now zooming over a desert of shallow water towards a bottle in the sky. He was about ask his guide about it but then decided not to, he had a feeling that not even this character knew for sure what the hell was going on.

Meanwhile in the huge limestone city of Twighlight town a train was arriving. Steam rose from its engine as it screeched to a halt in front of the station. The doors slid open and a mass of strange looking passengers stepped out. As the flow of people decreased a mysterious man stepped out. He had dark red hair messily spiked over his scalp, he was well-built and wore a dark black robe. He stepped out of the train and onto the station like a man with a purpose, looking left and right as if he feared he was being followed, he then glanced at his watch. Satisfied that he was on his own and raised his hood over his head and walked surely away,

'Who was that?' a station guard asked his co-worker,

'Dunno' replied the second man,' didn't look very happy did he?'

The room was empty. Sora and Kairi searched the place desperately at first trying to find something, a piece of paper, anything! But soon the hopelessness of their situation became apparent and the two sat down on the dusty floorboards against the wall,

'That's it then isn't it?' Kairi said,' we're stuck here'

Sora said nothing; his face said it all as it held a grim frown of utter depression,

'I suppose this is were we will be living from now on' Kairi continued,' we can probably build a bed or two from those trees outside, catch some kind of fish from the water, who knows we might even have kids here one day Sora'

'Aye?' Sora gasped going red in the cheeks,

'Well you don't think I want to die alone do you?' she smiled trying to make the best of the situation they were in. She huddled up against Sora's chest and placed his arm around her. Sora, unsure of what to do moved away suddenly and stuck his foot through a rotting section of the floor. Kairi looked up half in irritation half in amusement,

'We're gunna have to do something about those floorboards though,' she got up and helped Sora pull his leg out of the floor. When she had tugged it free she tore away the rest of the weak boards, and revealed a dark hole,

'Hang on' she said,' I think I can see something down there,' she dropped down into the pit and stood up, her head was all that stuck out of the hole,

'There's a chest down here, give me a hand with it will you?'

Sora clambered down and helped Kairi tug the heavy box up and into the room above. The followed it back up there and sat in front of it. The box was delicately carved out of a red wood and the frame was made out of a curly gold metal. Sora suddenly spied a huge black padlock on the box. He gave a huff of disappointment,

'It's locked' he said,

'What? Let me see' Kairi peered around and spied the lock. She held it in her hands and stared at it for a minute or two,

'Hang on a minute' she reached down her top and pulled out a tiny gold key on a chain. She lifted it over her head and placed it in the lock, it was a perfect fit,

'Where did you get that from?' Sora asked,

'I don't know, I've had it for as long as I can remember, I think my parents might have given it to me before…' she broke off,

'Oh' Sora replied understanding the abnormality of the situation,

'You mean they knew we would find this?'

'It seems like it' Kairi replied and turned the key. The lock glowed and exploded in a shattering of sparks,

'Wow' Sora commented

They lifted the lid and looked inside. Sitting in the bare chest was a large parcel wrapped in old brown paper. Kairi lifted it out and looked at it,

'…to Kairi' she looked up at Sora,' It's addressed to me'

She tore it open, and pulled out an envelope, a Gold pocket watch and a thin ring of white gold. Kairi picked up the envelope and opened it, inside was a letter,

'This watch is running backwards' Sora said as he held it in his hands. Kairi gave an amazed sob,

'What?' Sora asked,' Kairi, are you alright?' he put his hand on her shoulder in concern,

'What's wrong?'

She looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears,

'It's from my father'


	12. Yerrsef Tufulou

'Well what do you wanna do Kai?' Sora finally asked. Kairi had been sitting with her letter in hand for an hour now reading it over and over again. She looked up at him and he could see she had been crying,

'Kai? …Kai? Are you okay?'

She gave a sniffle and looked him in the eyes,' I want to find my parents' she said with a very certain tone to her voice'

'Then we'll find them' Sora nodded, 'but where do we start looking?'

'I don't know!' Kairi moaned and burst into a fit of rage full tears. She held the letter to her face in depression and as she did so a tear dripped down her face and touched the paper,

'Kairi look!' Sora exclaimed and pointed at the changing parchment. The letter had disappeared and a single guiding sentence replaced it: _GET BACK ON THE BOAT _it read.

'Our task is simple to see gentlemen' Axel announced to a group of older men also in dark robes,' The girl must be found, she is the key to the Heartless, They want her for some reason, maybe if we get to her first we can use her to discover the true darkness'

Twaine a chubby man with greying facial hair posed a question,' yes that is all find and dandy Axel, but how do we find her?' there was a mutter of agreement from the others,' we have only seen this… Kairi girl in our visions and the place in which she resides holds no records of even existing, the Organization has the largest library in the universe and no Destiny Islands were ever catalogued'

'Yes' replied another,' how do we know that this girl is not a myth?'

Axel clenched his fists and slammed them down on the table in front of him, 'Dammit! The master believed she was real why can't the rest of you?' he roared in frustration,

'Yeh and look what happened to your precious master!' Twaine retaliated, 'went off to look for fairies and where is he now? Gone! Dead!'

'He's not dead!' Axel cried,

'Look apprentice Axel' Twaine stood up and advanced towards the fiery man,' with the master gone, I am the leader of the organization and you are just an apprentice! It would not be a wise decision for your career to follow all this silly banter about the seventh princess'

'Banter!' Axel roared outraged, 'I speak the truth brothers and this is not banter, if you wish to discover the truth behind the darkness, behind Kingdom Hearts, behind all things! You will listen to me and fund my research into this place "Destiny Islands"'

'Axel I command you take your seat now! Or I will have you exiled from the order'

'ORDER? You still call this an order? You have become soft and mallow hearted, you care for nothing but the riches of men Twaine, you are not fit to command us, there was a time when the Organization meant something- a time where our intentions where pure of heart, now you seek only to benefit yourselves with power, if this is what the organization has become I would be glad to be exiled!'

Twaine smiled, he had had enough of this young "truth seeker" it was plain to everyone else in the organization that the study of the heartless offered an immense power a power which could be harnessed and used to their advantage. One day Twaine hoped to rule along side his fellow members over the universe. But that would never happen as long as moral people like Axel remained in the group,

'So be it' He said faking the seriousness in his voice,' as leader of the order I here by exile you apprentice Axel from the training and studying provided from the organization, you are to leave the area immediately and are never to set foot on Organization property again'

'Very well master' Axel said with a quick bow and left.

Riku and the hooded one had arrived at the strangest place Riku could ever have imagined. It was a small hut on an island surrounded by frothing water, there were trees on the island as well but the leaves were gone, replaced by clear bubbles. The two landed on the steps in front of the shack with a whiff of cool air,

'Where are we?' Riku asked his new companion,

'Where are we? I'm not entirely certain… and I created this place!'

'You are full of mysteries my good sir, what may I call you?' Riku enquired staring at the mans shadowed face under his hood,

'My name… my name if you must know is Yerrsef'

'Yerrsef?' Riku asked,' Do you have a last name, I would feel more comfortable calling you a MR…?'

'Tufulou, my name is Yerrsef Tufulou I would prefer if you just called me by my first name'

'Okay Yerrsef, what do you mean you created this place?'

Yerrsef let out a small chuckle and walked ahead towards the front door,

'Let's see if our Kairi is still on the premises shall we?'

'But you didn't answer my question!'


	13. They're Gone

'They're gone' Yerrsef exclaimed hardly surprised at all. He walked over to the chest in the corner of the room and realised what had happened,

'They're heading towards the islands' he muttered,

'Islands? What Islands are you talking about old man?' Riku asked, and took his place beside the stranger's side,

'The islands I created you fool! This place and the islands were designed to heard Kairi towards me, and now they are serving their purpose'

'Well, why don't we just wait here then? You said yourself that they will bring her to you'

Yerrsef snarled and kicked the box hard,

'Dammit! Confound my inventions! They were not designed to lead her to me, boy! But to the place I was fourteen years ago and where I planned to still be. That was until I found an easier way to find her'

'Why exactly do you need to find her Yerrsef? What do you want her for?'

'She is a vital component in what is to come.'

'What is to come? What do you mean?'

Yerrsef smiled and turned on his heels, he headed out of the shack,

'I think its time you and I had a little talk Riku, about where I come from. Don't you?'

Sora and Kairi were sailing again, they were outside the waterfall of the soapy liquid that surrounded the little house on the island, and now they were in proper saltwater again. The late afternoon sun bathed the two teens in a yellow glow and the cooling waves lapped against the sides of the boat like a happy puppy.

Sora lay on his back, his legs pushed up so that he could not see over his knees. He was tired and hungry but that still didn't stop his inquisitive mind from racing around trying to put together the events that had transpired recently. Where were they? What had happened to Riku and the destiny Isles? Who were Kairi's parents? Finally he took a deep breath and asked Kairi the chief question on his mind,

'Kai, do we really want to find your parents?'

'What? Of course we do Sora! Why would you even ask something like that?' she looked at him absurdly,

'Well, I've been thinking… Maybe you're better off without them in your life. I mean they've been gone for as long as you can remember and,' he paused thinking for the appropriate way to word what he was about to say, '… Look, I just don't want you to get hurt, y'know? When Riku's dad came back after five years when his parents split up, Riku was dashed to pieces with disappointment at who his father actually was. He had spent years building up a mental image of the ultimate dad, and when he saw that the man was just as normal and as human as anyone else, he almost killed himself!'

Kairi laid a hand on Sora's thigh and looked straight into his eyes,

'I'm not going to kill myself Sora.'

Sora shifted uncomfortably at her hypnotic gaze,

'I know, I just… I'm worried that your dad's not gunna be what you think he is, It might be painful and I don't think I could bear seeing you like that Kai'


	14. Another Day, Another Island

The next morning as the two teens were bathed in the warm pink glow of the rising sun, Sora sat awake watching Kairi sleep.

He smiled as she stirred when the light lapped playfully across her rosy cheeks. She was like an angel to him, it was unforeseen to the boy how someone with so much warming beauty could possibly be human anything less than a goddess. Sora had loved her as long as he could remember, his heart had flipped when he had seen her for the very first time, and he knew deep down that if he couldn't have her he would become bitter and die.

A strand of her chocolate brown hair fell across her face as she slept. Sora grinned slightly and flicked away from her soft smooth skin.

A dolphin, only three metres away leapt into the air to greet the morning and Sora's attention was temporarily distracted. When he looked back Kairi was awake. She rubbed her eyes and stretched sleepily.

'Good morning Sora,' she smiled at him and sat up, 'what were you looking at?'

Sora pulled her close so that their bodies were touching side to side and pointed at the frolicking Dolphin,

'You're gunna love this.' He said, waiting for her to spot it.

Two more had joined in the animal's glorious dance and they put on a joyful display for the next hour.

By the time the Dolphins had finished, which Sora worked out was probably around ten, both of them were feeling the heat and a little hungry,

'Fruit for breakfast again?' Kairi suggested to the boy. Sora rolled his eyes. Then he pulled his shirt off his chest and started to tear at it savagely,

'What are you doing Sora?' Kairi asked, a little bit worried about his actions,

'I've got a better idea!' Sora said, 'How do you feel about Fish?' Kairi realised now that Sora had made a crude fishing line from tying the shreds of his shirt together. He used a piece of metal from the chain attached to the pocket watch they had found in the chest as a hook before digging through their fruit supply,

'Now for the bait!' he said triumphantly tore some flesh from an open green coconut and hooked it on,

'Hope this works!' was the last thing he said before dropping the line into the water.

The line just floated on the surface awkwardly,

'Damn!' he cursed and dragged it back up into the boat, 'It needs a sinker!' he paused, 'Hey Kai, do you still need the key on the necklace?' he asked, hoping she would let him use it as a weight,

'Yes!' she replied, 'My parents gave it to me! Idiot, here use this!' she passed him her bracelet of Thalisa shells, 'They should do the trick.'

Sora thanked her and tried fishing. The line worked, but they didn't catch anything all day and were forced to eat fruit again,

'We are going to have the baddest runs ever!' Sora muttered as he bit into a juicy mango. Kairi grimaced, momentarily disturbed,

'Hey,' she said, 'we've put up with one another's toilet habits this far, what's an extra bump on the road?'

The next morning, the two woke up with their arms wound tightly around each other,

'Must've been cold last night.' Sora suggested, but they both knew that nature was beginning to take steps to ensure the continuation of the species.

The next two days went by without much commotion, the boat continued to glide towards the unknown, and there was only a slightly awkward time which lasted for about an hour when Kairi had tried to ask Sora how he was coping not being able to have a wank everyday like she suspected he had done while they had lived on the island,

'Fine! But that's really none of your business Kairi!' he had yelled very embarrassed,

'Okay, okay!' Kairi held up her hands defensively, 'It is a natural male need and I was just wondering if you were doing okay without it.'

Sora paused for a moment,

'I can cope without!' he said, 'It's not like I'm addicted!' Kairi smiled,

'Of course not Sora, but honestly I don't mind if you do have to take care of yourself from time to time.'

This was too much for Sora who was not really comfortable talking to a girl about that kind of thing snapped,

'Well I don't! Now can we just drop the whole thing?'

'Okay.'

Now, three days later Kairi grinned as she remembered that the past two nights, Sora's end of the boat seemed to keep hitting a "bumpy patch of water" while he thought she was asleep.

'What are you smiling about?' Sora asked grumpily, he still hadn't caught any fish,

'Nothing.' Kairi replied.

Just then something got hooked on Sora's fishing line and began to tug frantically,

'It's doing a runner!' Sora yelled, 'help me pull it in before the hook breaks!' They both pulled hard on the line, but the fish only pulled harder until it eventually tugged Sora right out of the boat. In the commotion he let go of the line. Expecting to fall in deep water, Sora readied himself, when all of a sudden his hands sank into soft, fine sand,

'What the?' Sora looked up from where he was crouched and his jaw dropped. Directly in front of them was a strange looking island. It was just as tropical as home but seemed very deserted,

'Kai…' he asked, 'do you see what I see?'

'Yes.' She replied, 'But it wasn't there a minute ago!'


	15. Secrets Revealed

They sat there that night on a rock looking out at the strange ocean surrounding them.

The sea of secrecy

The sea of obscurity

The sea of mystery.

Kairi was wondering the same thing she had been wondering for a few nights now. Who was she? Who where her parents? Would she ever find out? And if she did would it do her any good? She wanted to know her father, but what if Sora was right? What if her dad didn't match up to what she had envisioned him to be? What if he took her away to live with him somewhere? Would she ever see Sora again? Would she ever see Riku again?

Then there was the matter of Riku. She hoped he was okay, he had seemed devastated at Sora's apparent betrayal, but he would bounce back- right?

'Hey Kairi?' Sora asked, breaking the silence of the beach. She looked up at him, into his deep blue eyes. They were like two pools of crystal mountain water, dark with the shadows of the fish just below the surface,

'Kairi?' She flipped back into reality, blushing slightly at what she had been thinking about,

'Yes Sora?' she asked,

'Umm… You know what you said earlier in the shack… about um… us having kids. You didn't mean that… did you?' he was rapidly growing red in the cheeks. Kairi smiled and ruffled his hair playfully,

'You don't need to worry about that yet, Sora.'

He pulled away from her and fixed his hair,

'But uh… you do like me… right?'

Kairi chuckled and leant over. Their lips touched softly, Sora's spirit soared and they kissed. He shut his eyes and let his other senses take over for him. Her hair smelt beautiful, it always did. Even now, smelling of sea water, it made him feel at peace. Her lips were soft and spongy, like the softness found only in the finest silk cloth. He felt her tongue push forward and his quivering lips parted quickly to bid her entrance.

Sora, too found he was now exploring the girl's mouth passionately, and his hands began to grope clumsily at her shoulders drawing her closer into his embrace. Then just as Sora began to realise what was about to happen, Kairi objected and pulled away softly,

'No, Sora… not like this. I don't want this to happen just because nature wants it to. I want it to be love.' She explained,

'You know I do love you though.' Sora smiled. Kairi laughed,

'Yes Sora, I'd say that's pretty clear now.' She leaned forward and kissed his head, 'Let's just wait…. For me Sora. We're too young. Besides I don't want a kid yet and I don't think you do either.'

Sora had to agree with that. He admired Kairi's smarts in this subject, how would they have safely done anything anyway? They were shipwrecked teenagers on an island far from home; it wouldn't have been fair on them or a baby,

'You're right. Let's wait.'

Yerrsef and Riku continued their journey towards 'the islands' the mysterious mans true quest revealed to Riku. Riku was stunned at who the man was, but there was no time for that now. Those Heartless- the monsters Riku had followed into the secret place on Destiny Islands were after Kairi, as well as a group of hooded characters called the thirteenth order- dedicated to capturing the power of the Heartless from a place called Kingdom Hearts which in the parallel world Yerrsef had come from was located in the exact same spot as Destiny Islands were in this world? It was all very confusing, but Kairi was apparently this guy's daughter and also the key to darkness the 'seventh princess of heart.'

'So tell me again, why is Kairi been placed in this parallel world?' Riku asked his mind moving almost as fast as the magic propelled boat they were in. Yerrsef sighed and repeated his reasons,

'The Thirteenth order used to be the good guys. I even worked for them back then. I left however when I discovered the new leader's true motives. He wanted to open Kingdom Hearts for the sole purpose of using its power for himself. Instead of studying the darkness and finding a way to defeat it entirely he was going to conquer the world with it. After immense study he managed to train heartless to seek out the princesses of heart needed for the ceremony. Lastly he discovered he needed my daughter. The leader- a man named Marluxia tried to take her from me so I conjured up all my magic power and created a parallel world, sort of a "pocket universe" Destiny Islands and hid her in it.

Unfortunately Marluxia never fully controlled the Heartless and just as they were programmed to do they found Kairi and killed her.'

'Aye? No she's alive remember?' Riku protested.

Yerrsef only laughed,

'Death isn't always the end you know. I went back in time and sent her back along with a protector- you.'

'Me?'

'Yes, I wiped Kairi's memories of the real world and gave you the mission of protecting her. This is about the time where everything went wrong. Time does not like to be cheated. Any connection between the real world and this one were severed and I lost contact.'

'Hang on- why can't I remember any of this?'

'Lady Fate installed false memories in you and created other people- people who unlike this world which is a fake, were real- people like this Sora. People who can feel love, hate, jealousy, fear.'

'Wow.'

'I was only able to alter things in this world- hence the islands- clues to lead her to me which would only appear when I wished them to. But somehow the Heartless have found their way back into this world- in doing so opening a portal between the worlds and setting off the appearance of the islands and their clues. I realised that with your memories gone you would be unable to protect Kairi from the Heartless, so I came here myself through the same worm hole the Heartless tore open. And now it seems we may be too late as she is gone with Sora. Also I am sure with a way in here the order will soon be after my girl as well as the Heartless!"

It made sense now, Riku understood,

'Well we better hurry up- I couldn't protect her in the first instance I'm not gunna fail a second time!'

The Hooded man laughed,

'I like your spirit- I remember when I was younger and had that same passion. You'll do good no matter what happens.'


	16. Dream Interlude

Sora and Kairi sat next to a wood fire staring out at the sea in silence. The orange, hot flames flickered- licking at the sky almost as if trying to taste the stars. It was about twelve by Sora's estimations, or though he couldn't be sure. Neither of them spoke- afraid of what might come of a conversation in this dark desolate place. Nothing but the ocean made a noise, galoshing against the sand on the beach. Eventually it got too dark and too tiresome to stay awake and shortly Sora fell into a deep slumber on the cooling sand.

'_Exiled! Exiled!' a spiky red-haired man dressed in black robes muttered as he walked down the dark spiralling stairs and into the gloom. Sora watched, hovering over his dream that seemed so real._

'_Exiled like that buffoon! Disgraced on my search for truth? If only Master Marluxia was here… he'd take care of those lying, evil scheming monsters! Organization indeed!'_

'_What are you talking about?' Sora asked the man, but he appeared not to hear him and kept walking and mumbling, mumbling and walking._

'_Marluxia can't be Dead! He can't. Without him it will be impossible to find Kairi!'_

'_What about Kairi?' Sora yelled beginning to see where this dream was going. The man finally arrived at the bottom of the stairs and tugged open a small creaky wooden door. He entered and Sora followed, finding himself in what looked like a cramped underground laboratory of some sorts. The man headed for his desk which sat square in the middle of the room, but stopped. Another sat in the red-heads chair, hooded and robed in the same clothes as he._

'_If you're here to eliminate me for the Organization, don't bother. No one can beat me.' The hooded entity just chuckled, 'Hey don't you laugh at me…' but he stopped recognising the other man's voice, '…Marluxia?'_

_The hooded one lowered his hood revealing himself to indeed be the man Axel had been muttering about on his way down the stairs._

'_Master! I apologise. The Organization- Twain he exiled…' he was shushed by Marluxia with a tiny hand gesture,_

'_Axel.' Marluxia said addressing the man, 'Do not apologise, anger is good. You must fuel it. Build a purpose for your rage.'_

'_Yes Master. But where have you been for the past year?' Axel enquired. Sora watched still, increasingly confused,_

'_About.' The man replied simply, 'I have been searching for a way into the island world.'_

'_Into?'_

'_Yes, after the banishment of… well you know who, I did some research and discovered he was right. Destiny Islands is not of this world. It is a pocket world. A world which I have been trying to find an entrance into.'_

'_You believed that lunatic master? You do no what he accused you of?'_

_Marluxia smiled,_

'_Humour me. What do you think he said that was so wrong?'_

_Axel stumbled, 'Well, Master he accused you of evil! He told everyone you wanted his daughter so you could exploit Kingdom Hearts for your own dark means- actually he accused you of everything that the order has become in your absence, that's why I was exiled- for standing up for the original morals of the Organization.'_

'_Hmm…' Marluxia began, 'You're still as innocent as you were during our last meeting Axel.'_

'_What do you mean master?'_

'_I mean, Axel that everything I was accused of was true.'_

'_What?'_

'_Don't you see my boy, that there is so much more power to be had if we use kingdom hearts darkness?'_

'_You… you betrayed me?'_

'_Ha. Think of it not as a betrayal, but more of a…change of heart. You are still welcome to share in the spoils Axel.'_

_Axel gave a bitter laugh,_

'_I thought you were a hero Marluxia, but you're just as bad as Twain and the others. Goodbye master.' He held out his arms and with a poof of red flame summoned to circular fighting blades into his fists,_

'_If this is how it must be,' Marluxia drew his Scythe from the holster on his back, 'Then goodbye old friend.'_

Sora awoke with a start, sweating buckets. It was still dark. He stood up and watched Kairi sleeping peacefully across from him behind the ashes of the dyeing fire.

'Oh kai…' he whispered sitting down beside her, 'who are you really?'

He stayed with her until the sun rose.


	17. The Beginning of Answers

'How much time have we got Yerrsef?' Riku asked the hooded man as they zoomed across the ocean,

'Not much time. If I'm correct Sora and Kairi are very close to reaching the end of the clues I left for Kairi. And if we don't get there before them there's no telling what might happen.'

'Huh?'

'They're travelling to a spot where I should be remember Riku. A spot predestined by fate. If I'm not there when the portal opens then we could have a problem. The organization is constantly looking for a way in here to capture Kairi. They would no about a portal as soon as it opened.'

'So… not much time then?'

'No not much time at all. Even less if you look up ahead.' Yerrsef pointed to the horizon. A small island lay in the distance when a storm brewing over it, quite similar to the one that had occurred over Destiny Islands only a few days earlier. Heartless- the little black shadows were swimming underneath the two towards the island,

'That storm…' Riku began,

'Yes, it signals a portal opening. The same happened when I arrived.'

'Hang on,' Riku began, 'why didn't the organization know about your portal?'

'They couldn't Riku. I didn't exactly come through one. I'm only half here- you are what keeps me in this world. You opened your heart to me in that cave remember? It bought me through. Anyway we need to get to that island and soon.'

Sora held Kairi by the hand as the strong, damp winds blew them backwards across the sand,

'We need to find shelter!' Sora screamed to the girl,

'Sora! Don't let go!' Kairi cried back,

'Come on!' he lead her away from the beach and into the small jungle in the island centre. Huge thick leaves flew past their heads as Sora pulled Kairi towards the middle of the island. Clods of dirt were ripped from the ground, crashing into the creaking trees around them. It was as if the island was about to fall apart!

Then Sora spotted their saviour- a small log cabin seemingly inconspicuously placed in a jungle.

'There!' he pointed and the two teens made their way up the steps and across the balcony to the door. Sora tugged it open and they entered…

Axel stormed down an alley way fuming like nothing else. He had been tricked, betrayed and made a fool of by the very man he had idolised for years.

'I'll show him!' he said marching on with a new purpose. He had a plan- the forbidden one had been right all along! And Axel was on his way search the man's deserted house for clues on how to get revenge.

Revenge- it was burning up Axel's mind now and he had no other purpose. He WOULD kill Marluxia if it was the last thing he did.

Soon he arrived outside the empty little house. It resembled something of a cottage, Axel kicked down the door and stepped in. He immediately noticed something wrong. The place was a mess inside, papers were strewn across the ground and furniture was tossed on its side,

'What the hell?' Axel muttered. He walked forward and noticed a locked door lying on its side. He followed its path with his eyes and was confronted with a hidden doorway leading down into the cellar.

He walked down the stairs and flipped the lights.

'Wow.' Axel gasped at what the light revealed. The floor it was a huge clock face, but this clock he noticed was wrong- almost as if it was counting down to something…

Kairi and Sora sat huddled together cold and wet inside the cabin. It was fully furnished with sheepskin rugs and a crackling fire that did nothing to warm their chilled bones,

'You okay?' Sora asked

'Yep.' Kairi shivered, 'Hey!' she noticed something on the wall that made her jump,

'What? …Oh!' Sora saw them too. The walls were covered with framed photos. Photos of Kairi when she was little, Photos of Kairi with… her parents. The adult's faces for some reason had been scratched out however for some reason.

"I think we're close to finding your family Kairi…' he whispered,

'Yes! And look at this!' Kairi held out the Gold Pocket Watch they had found. It immediately shot up in the air trying to pull Kairi to the fireplace,

'What do you suppose it means?' Sora asked.

'Let's try something Sora.' Kairi said pulling out the thin Gold ring and the key on her necklace as well. She crawled over to the fire and put the ring on her finger. Then as if she knew exactly what she was doing Kairi placed the ringed finger into the flames,

'Kairi! What are you doing?' Sora yelled and tried to pull her away. But Kairi was having none of it and stayed with her finger in the fire. Suddenly the flames disappeared leaving only ashes behind. Kairi's finger was completely normal, but the ring was gone,

'Okay…' Sora muttered confused, 'Now what?'

Kairi pulled out the key and began to fumble around at the back of the fireplace. She discovered a keyhole which it fitted into perfectly. She turned the key and the fireplace gave a groan. This time Kairi did back off as the whole wall slid upwards to reveal a secret wall behind it. In the walls centre was a round recess that seemed to Sora to be the perfect shape for a little Gold pocket watch to fit in. Kairi had the same idea and she placed the watch in the hole. It clicked into place and began to glow a bright yellow.

'Now this is getting weird Kairi- Be careful I had a strange dream last night…' but Kairi seemed to be in some sort of a trance. She stood there watching and waiting.


End file.
